Disclaimer: Stargate, Stargate SG-1 and all of its characters, titles, names, and back-story are the property of MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions, SciFi Channel, and Showtime/Viacom. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. This story cannot be printed anywhere without the sole permission of the author. Realize this is for entertainment purposes only; no financial gain or profit has been gained from this fiction. This story is not meant to be an infringement on the rights of the above-mentioned establishments

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She slid her hands down the length of his chest, smiling as her touch elicited a soft moan from his lips. Feeling encouraged, she slipped her hand down lower, toying with his belt before shifting to blow gently at his ear.

"Was it as good for you as it was for me?"

Daniel's eyes snapped open. Before Vala could react, he pushed her away, scrambling to untangle himself from both her and his sleeping bag.

"We each have our own for a reason," he mumbled.

"But it's so impractical. Think about it," she said, grabbing a handful of material and consequently drawing Daniel closer. "If we shared one, we wouldn't need to lug all of these supplies.

"Or you wouldn't have to lug your supplies."

She shrugged. "Either way works for me."

"Not me." He pointed to her sack. "Yours."

Vala sighed and flopped onto her back, staring at the interior of the tent. "Honestly, Daniel. You have no sense of humor."

With an aggravated sigh, he shook his head and started to tug at the sleeping bag, only to stop and frown. "What's that around your neck?"

She glanced down at her neck and fingered the delicate chain and clasp that held a small crystal. "This old thing? Been in the family for years."

"Vala..."

"What?" When his scowl refused to disappear, she sighed. "I borrowed it."

"You mean you stole it."

"Borrow. Steal." She turned on her side. "Is there a difference?"

"You stole it. From me."

Vala couldn't help but smile. Whenever Daniel was angry, his face never failed to pucker into a mess of fine lines and deep fissures, which only brought more attention to his mouth. He never realized how his lips puffed out when he was upset.

Her smile widened. "And just what are you doing buying jewelry?"

Daniel's cheeks puffed with indignation. "None of your business."

"Well, I should certainly think it is my business," she said. "I never knew you that you had a jewelry fetish. Do the others know?"

Silence.

"What do you think they will say when I show them?"

Daniel lunged at her. In such a confined space, neither one of them had much room to move or defend against attack. Therefore, beating him into submission wasn't an option, and she could do so without the rest of his gang coming in for the rescue. And yet, she's grown rather fond of this game, unable to let go just yet.

Vala unclasped the necklace and let it drop between her breasts.

Daniel gaped at her.

"You're free to come and take it," she said with a smile.

To Vala's surprise, Daniel didn't reply at all. The anger vanished from his face, replaced by sorrow – even disappointment – encapsulated in his deep frown. Then, he turned away from her completely, sliding back into his sleeping bag.

"Well, you're no fun."

"Keep it," came his muffled voice.

"Excuse me?"

"Keep it. Just take it."

Now, Vala frowned, feeling a growing unease with his sudden change in mood. The two of them had been playing this game for months now. Surely, he knew she didn't mean anything by it. She knew that he didn't. It was all just part of the fun.

"I can't just take it if you're going to give it to me," she said. Vala bit her lip, shoving her hand down her shirt as she fumbled for the necklace. She grinned as she retrieved it. "Here," she said, thrusting it towards Daniel. "Good as new."

Daniel remained motionless within the confines of the bag.

Vala rolled her eyes. "And people call me childish." She slipped in beside Daniel, reaching over to dangle the necklace in front of him. "You can at least tell me who was the lucky lady."

Daniel turned and finally faced her. "She was you."

"Me?" Vala frowned again and lowered her arms. "Was?"

He nodded.

"Oh."

He offered her a sad, regrettable smile. "I know you've been struggling to fit in and put aside your old ways. I just thought..." He glanced at the necklace in her hand. "It's not important. Never mind."

Vala found herself speechless as she watched Daniel turn away from her again. There was an uncomfortable burning sensation spreading through her cheeks.

She did not like to feel uncomfortable.

After taking another longing look at the necklace, Vala reached over Daniel's shoulder and dropped the chain into his open palm. "Here. Give it to someone more worthy."

With that, she flopped onto her back, finding herself staring at the interior of the tent yet again. For the longest time, she remained motionless, only listening to her own breathing and heartbeat as they punctured the silence. She tried not to dwell on her anger – anger aimed at herself – or to acknowledge the disappointment she'd read in Daniel's eyes.

Tomin had made her soft. Earth had made her soft.

Daniel had made her soft.

The time ticked on. Slow, fast – she didn't know. What she did know is that the silence was killing her, the heavy weight of expectations and desires confining her in this makeshift prison. If she didn't leave, she would go mad.

But before she could free herself from her own pressures, she heard Daniel shift beside her, his body heat washing over her skin as he moved into her personal space. Vala gazed past him, pretending not to watch as he brushed back her hair and slipped the chain around her neck, clasping it with a quick pinch of his fingers. He held the crystal suspended over her neck, long enough for Vala to catch the affection in his eyes, but brief enough for her to wonder if she'd imagined it. Then, he let the crystal fall through his fingers before he brought his hands to his side.

Vala reached down and traced her fingers over the chain. "Why?" she asked with a frown.

"It's okay," he said softly. "I know you're trying."

"Just not hard enough," she said, knowing the answer.

Daniel didn't reply. He pulled away from her and turned onto his back, his gaze fixed somewhere above him. Vala settled in beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.

The two didn't say anything for the rest of the night. Vala kept quiet as she thoughtfully stroked the crystal. She wondered just when she had changed. She wondered if it had been instantaneous or if it had been gradual. She wondered if this is what she'd been searching for all along.

And she wondered when gaining someone's trust and affection had become her strongest desire, outweighing any treasure she'd ever coveted.

That was lovely it really showed Vala's struggle to become honest and how much Daniel helped her just by being Daniel. And seeing how she realized that having Daniel trust her was important to her- lovely.] I could picture this so clearly in my mind it was almost like watching a show. Loved it.

I had you and a couple of other people in mind when I thought of the idea. I'm *really* trying to create two worlds for myself in the fandom. My "gen on the screen" persona. I am staunchly gen for the show. I don't want anyone hooking up because the writing for ship on SG-1 is generally crappy.

(But some fanfic writers do it oh so well.)

But then there is my fandom persona where I feel like we all can explore all kinds of avenues without it ever harming anyone. The realm of possibility is endless. Why have character wars? Ship wars? It's all silly in the end. So I'm trying hard to keep an open mind for ship in the fandom and fanfic world that I don't really squee over. Because who says I can't be 100% gen for the show and a multishipper in the fandom? Who says I have to take sides?

So...I'm trying ;) It's very very hard with Sam/Jack and Daniel/Vala but I'm trying. Though, I sort of hid this one on my flist...

And thanks. I really wanted to go for something kind of subdued with this but something that would still show some character growth without being too heavy handed. Also, I love to play with emotional flucuations because I find it realistic. But yay! I'm glad that I didn't totally screw up this pairing.

I'm *really* trying to create two worlds for myself in the fandom. My "gen on the screen" persona. I am staunchly gen for the show. I don't want anyone hooking up because the writing for ship on SG-1 is generally crappy.

*nods* I totally get that. As much as I love Daniel and Vala, I don't want them getting together in canon, not in a way that can't be written around. I was really happy with the way they left Sam/Jack. Yes, there are hints that they decided to get together after Jack left, but it's very easy to assume Sam is still single. Despite the heavy-handed UST in season 7 and some of season 8, they left it in a good place for me, and I was pleasantly surprised. *g*

So, yeah, I'm pretty much staunchly gen for the show myself, even if part of me still wishes Daniel had gotten Sha're back. ;)

Why have character wars? Ship wars? It's all silly in the end.

Too true. This is part of the reason I'm keeping my distance from SGA fandom. It's still going through growing pains while SG1 fandom is, in large part, so over it and just about the squee. Or at least the part of SG1 fandom that shows up on my flist is. ;)

It's very very hard with Sam/Jack and Daniel/Vala but I'm trying.

*nods* I'm trying to reconcile myself with Sam/Jack, for the sake of a few people on my flist. I still dislike it in the show, but in fic it's growing on me. I kept leaving feedback that started out, "I don't usually like Sam/Jack, but..." and then I realized after leaving several such feedbacks that maybe I did like Sam/Jack, in fic at least.

I'm glad that I didn't totally screw up this pairing.

Nope, not at all! I, uh, don't supposed you'll be writing any more... Okay, okay, I should just be happy with the story we got. I'll leave you alone now. *g*

1) Dark Side? Heh. Don't know about that. It may be my one and only fic for them, but I wanted to share my SG-1 love anyway.

2) I think I'm the only one that has written Daniel/Janet (and quite extensively) and never considered them one of my pairings. Then again, I write *a lot* of pairings and I still consider myself GEN. (I have no OTP and I mainly write GEN/plotty fics.)

Wow, you really nailed the Daniel and Vala dynamic here, playful yet sweet. This scene just fits beautifully with how their relationship develops over season 10. I don't think you need to be a shipper to really appreciate this fic. You captured Daniel and Vala's characters perfectly. Really, just wonderful. I hope you write more for them in the future :)

Well, heck! This one made me cry. I'm always amazed how you can take me from smiling to crying (or vice versa) all within the few short minutes it takes to read your fic. And the Vala/Daniel banter was just perfect! :)

Um, can I tell you it was really, really good? You made Vala so believable. Not too over the top, which I just can't stand. Any time you want to write Daniel/Vala or whatever other pairing, I'm game. Or Gen. Just write!

I was feeling unusual. I wanted to see if I could write them even if I don't feel them. And one of the things about Vala that I feel hasn't been explored enough on the show is how she moves from thief to her softer version in S10 (or at least as far as I've gotten in S10). And while I'm not fond of the shippy aspect, I do feel it is highly in character for Daniel to try to nurture the goodness in people. So I like to explore that as well.

That really was quite lovely! I loved the characterization and just very well written. I also loved the mention of Tomin, which I think a lot of people tend to forget because I think he was important in making Vala "soft." (That and the image of her baking while pregnant with Tomin keeps popping in my head!)

Oh I love Tomin. I actually feel like Vala's experiences with Tomin are the majority of what helped her become who she is now. I'm not belittling Daniel at all. But I feel like while Daniel shruck a cord with her, Tomin broke the rest, leaving her a changed woman so that when she encountered Daniel again, they started off on a different foot.

Often times I feel as though Tomin is entirely forgotten, which is sad because I really do like him and I totally agree with you about her personal progress. Tomin was a big part of that and she did consider him to be a good man, someone she tried very hard to protect, and in the end couldn't because the Ori got to him. I suppose in some manner, I'm very much a Tomin/Vala shipper.